


The Second Tap-Out Job

by AwkwardPotatoChild



Category: Leverage
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Days, Boxing & Fisticuffs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, POV Second Person, Platonic Relationships, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28401258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwkwardPotatoChild/pseuds/AwkwardPotatoChild
Summary: Life has got you worn out and exhausted.Thankfully, your favorite local brewpub is there to help.
Relationships: Eliot Spencer & Reader, Eliot Spencer & You, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18
Collections: 2020 Leverage Secret Santa Exchange





	The Second Tap-Out Job

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AccidentalKittyGhost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AccidentalKittyGhost/gifts).



> Written as a gift for AccidentalKittyGhost as part of the Leverage Secret Santa Exchange!
> 
> You said anything with Eliot was good and seeing as how this year has been...like _that_ , I thought it'd be nice for all of us to hear some comforting words at the end of the year.  
> I hope you enjoy this!
> 
>  **EDIT:** Originally posted December 29, 2020 and revealed January 14,2021

Thunder roared behind you as you hurried down the street causing your pounding headache to grow even worse. You gritted your teeth and pushed through, seeing as how you were only a block away from the brewpub and the comfort there, but as expected, nature was not on your side that day either.

Great. Just great, you thought as it began to pour and you were soaked to the bone within a matter of seconds.

You continued on and were nearly tripped by a man carrying an umbrella that was far too large for someone so inconsiderate, but thankfully, you managed to keep your balance as you finally reached the brewpub. You let out a sigh of relief, taking a moment to calm yourself beneath the awning out front, before entering. You were relieved once more when you saw that there was no one there besides the employees, spotting only one man cleaning glasses behind the bar. Being a regular, you recognized the chef and owner, and Eliot gave you a nod in acknowledgment, saying nothing as you made your way over to the bar to sit. He eyed you warily as you collapsed and slumped over, but didn’t comment in regards to your current state.

“Hey, what can I get ya?” he asked instead.

“Coffee. Or tea. Or anything warm, really,” you shrugged. “Actually, any kind of alcohol would be nice too. I can’t be bothered to pick right now.”

Eliot nodded and turned away to prepare your drink. You sighed, about to rest your head on the counter, when you recalled your phone. You pulled it out of your pocket, frantically trying to turn it on, but alas, it was dead. Of course, it was. Closing your eyes, you buried your face in your hands. You took a deep breath to try and calm your heart, but came out shaking and you could feel your chest ache as you fought to keep yourself from crying. A few sniffles still managed to escape, though, and you bit your lip to keep from being too loud.

Light clinking caught your attention, causing you to peek between your fingers and catch a glimpse of a mug topped with whipped cream. You raised an eyebrow in question as Eliot set down a towel next to it and a slice of cake too.

“Hot chocolate?” you asked, pulling the mug over.

Eliot nodded. “With a little something extra added.”

You gave him another curious look, but he only gestured for you to try it. You brought the mug up to your lips, blowing it at carefully, and took a small sip. You were instantly filled with warmth from the chocolate and spices, and your shoulders relaxed at the familiar feeling. You looked back up at Eliot who was giving you a small smile. He moved the towel, so that it was closer to you when you set the mug down.

“Figured you wanna dry up a bit too.”

You gestured to the plate. “And the cake?

“It’s a new recipe and I need people to try it,” said Eliot. “I trust you to give me an honest opinion.”

“Thanks,” you nodded.

You picked up the towel and used it to dry up as much of your hair as you could. It was surprisingly warm and you wondered how he managed to do that so quickly. Or perhaps, you were lost in your wallowing for longer than you had thought. Either way, it certainly put a bit of brightness into your day, enough so that you nearly cried when you took a bite of the cake, revelling in how good it was. During all of this, Eliot silently watched, leaning against the backbar as he did so.

“Rough day?”

You scoff. “More like rough life,” you mumbled between bites.

“You wanna talk about it? I’m not great at pep talks, but I’m willing to listen, if you just wanna vent.”

You looked up to see Eliot looking down at you gently. He smiled softly at you and with a small shrug, you relented, but you figured this was a long time coming. With a shuddering breath, you began to explain all that had been happening to you, both in your professional and personal life. You spoke automatically as the unbearable weight of your feelings finally forced you to do so and while you were hoping the heavy burden upon you would lessen, you instead found yourself fighting back sobs once again. The floodgates had been opened and there was no stopping you from releasing all that you had been holding in.

You turned away and grabbed for the towel, using it to both dry your tears and hide your face. During all of this, Eliot listened carefully, no ounce of judgement on his expression, but your insecurities got the best of you and you could help but feel anxious as you waited for him to say something, anything. But when he did, it was one of the last things you expected him to say.

“You box?”

You blinked. “Box?”

“Yeah, or do any kind of fighting sport?”

“Uh, no?” You paused, still trying to figure out if there was some other meaning to his words. “Why?”

Eliot smirked at this and pushed away from the bar. He gestured for you to follow him as he came around and headed towards the back offices. Clearly confused, you contemplated not following, but Eliot didn’t seem to care and continued on. You were worried you would lose him, so before you knew it, you came hurrying after. The back offices were larger than you had expected and looked more like a loft. You didn’t have time to take everything in, though, as Eliot kept walking down a hallway until he reached a room on the left.

Entering, your confusion only grew when you realized it was a small gym. Some equipment was lying around, but Eliot headed towards the back to a punching bag. He gestured for you to wait there as went over to the lockers and grabbed boxing gloves and hand wraps. He held his hand out for your hand and carefully began wrapping them. It didn’t take long for him to finish both hands and before you knew it, you were standing before the punching bag with boxing gloves on. Eliot stood beside you with his arms crossed, expression betraying nothing about what all of this was.

“Alright. Hit the bag.”

“What?”

You stared at Eliot with wide-eyes, but he only nodded.

“Hit the bag,” he repeated. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

You stared at Eliot, then the bag, then at your gloved hands, then back to Eliot. He snorted at your perplexed expression, but only nodded to the bag once more. Looking down at your hands, you gulped and took a deep breath.

Might as well, you thought. Not like I have anything to lose.

Taking a step forward, you stood before the punching bag with Eliot beside you. You put your hands up and reached out, giving the bag a strike. With its heavy weight, it barely budged and your shoulders slouched when you realized this. You sighed and stepped back, giving Eliot a dejected look, but he stopped you before you could get too far. Arms crossed and shaking his head, Eliot gestured to the punching bag once more.

“Come on. You can do better than that.”

You wanted to argue, but with a stern pleading look, you found yourself too tired to try. Instead, you did as you were told and approached the bag once more. Hands up, you gave another punch. It remained unmoving like before.

“Harder.”

You nodded and complied. The bag swung a bit more and you felt yourself perk up slightly. Eliot seemed to pick up on this shift.

“Good. Again. Let out all your frustrations and feelings,” he said.

You hit the bag, harder than before, and this time around, Eliot didn’t have to tell you to continue. You began building up a steady rhythm as you began punching away at the bag. Every punch you made felt like you were fighting back against all the life had thrown at you and you found yourself yelling with each punch. The bag began to move more as you struck it harder and harder, and the more it moved, the more your punches began to slip up. With a growl, you began moving closer to keep up with its swinging, landing more punches still.

You had no clue how long you punched for, but your arms began to grow heavy and, with one final punch and yell, you collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Eliot sat down next to you and set down a water bottle next to you that you hadn’t noticed him grabbing before. He let you catch your breath before helping you sit up and helping you drink.

“Better?” he asked. You nodded. “Good.” Eliot pointed to the punching bag. “Now, tell me something. Did you land all of your punches?”

You paused while you were drinking. “No?” you said carefully.

“Why?”

“Because the bag kept on moving.”

Eliot nodded. “So what did you do to fix that?”

“I...moved? And changed where I punched?”

“Right. Because you couldn’t control the bag. But you could control yourself.”

Your brow furrowed at this and he continued his explanation.

“Look, life ain’t always gonna be great. I know that well. There are days where it feels like you’ve got no control over anything and everything is spinning out of control. But that’s not true. You’re the one thing in life you have control over and you’re always gonna be the one thing in life you can control.” Eliot pointed at you as he said this and then at the bag. “You’re not gonna land every punch. That’s unavoidable and it sucks when you do. But don’t let it get you down. Just change your punches and keep going.”

You hadn’t realized how badly you needed to hear that until it was said. You felt tears start to well up again and you sniffled as you nodded your head. You smiled at Eliot, opening your mouth to try and find the words to thank him, but he shook his head and continued speaking, resting a hand on your shoulder comfortingly. He gave it a small squeeze in reassurance.

“But also, don’t forget that you can ask for help too. I know what it’s like to think you gotta do things on your own, but that’s not true. There’s always someone that’s willing to help you. It may not solve everything, but things are certainly easier to handle when you’re not alone. All you gotta do is ask. Okay?”

You nodded again, still struggling to speak through all of your emotions. Life had certainly been rough on you and the last thing you expected was to find the comfort you so desperately needed here, in a gym in the back of a brewpub. All you wanted was a nice dry place for a moment of peace and instead, you got a revelation. You were just a regular boring customer. Sure, you came by often, but you didn’t think anyone noticed you, not enough to care, at least. It certainly felt that way while you were around your friends and family.

But Eliot just single-handedly proved you wrong. You were confused at first, but he showed you that no matter how small you felt about yourself, there was always someone that would notice you, that would care for you, that would remind you that you weren’t alone in this vast world.

“Feeling a little better now?” Eliot asked gently. You wiped away a few stray tears and nodded again. “Good. Let’s go finish up that slice of cake, okay?”

Eliot stood up and you were about to nod, but quickly stopped yourself. You pulled yourself up with his help, but stopped him before he could get too far. “Actually!” you interjected. “Is it alright if I…” You sheepishly glanced over at the punching bag.

An amused look adorned Eliot’s face and he nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”

“And will you...hold the bag for me?”

“Absolutely.”

Heading back over to the punching bag, you and Eliot spent more time relieving your frustrations. This time around, he made sure to give you more tips, encouraging you more as well, and by the time the other owners, Parker and Hardison, arrived and reminded you of the time, your mood had drastically shifted, in comparison to how you felt earlier.

It was still raining out when you left, but along with another slice of cake, the trio gave you an umbrella to use too. As you walked home, though still soaked and aware that this brief visit wouldn’t miraculously solve all of your problems, it certainly made you less frightened of the uncertainty that is to come, knowing that you weren’t alone after all, and you sent another silent thank you to your newly recognized friends.

**Author's Note:**

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